Re: Petersen, Fox, Dourdan Leaving *No Spoilers*
I think the show will go on without WP but right now, it's kind of impossible to say whether CSI will lose its #1 spot. it all depends on how TPTB are going to solve the whole thing. the internet polls, scientifically, have absolutely zero validity whatsoever, so i don't think we should even look at them and try to analyse them in any way. the main problem with internet polls is that:
1) people volunteer to vote themselves, and are not chosen randomly, which creates a bias - only those who have a strong opinion about something are actually going to bother and vote
2) poll is available at only one website that is used by a certain group of internet users (who are a particular group already)
add a 3% margin of error and the data in that poll is absolutely useless.
I think CSI is going through a ER transition. there is an original cast that starts to get replaced one by one, and after a while there is no original characters left at all. i don't think Marg is going to stay longer than one more season. she is the next one to go, imo. we'll be left with Fishbourne's character, Riley, Nick, Greg, Brass, and Doc.
but that won't be for long either. i have serious doubts at how many original cast members are going to be left by the end of S10. i can just imagine those S11 credits: Eric Szmanda, David Berman, Laurence Fishbourne, Lauren Lee Smith, David Hasselhoff, and China-Doll. lmao
i'm not sure whether CSI will be able to remain on TV without the original cast. on one hand, yes, the evidence is the star. on the other, the original cast has been together for such a long time without replacements that it could prove hard to become ER or Law and Order.
ETA:
des, i think sometimes you might be involuntarily causing some nagative comments towards Billy. i mean, when you say "he is perfect", everybody is like "no, he is not".
i understand your love for the guy, i mean, i'm a huge fan, but sometimes comments that praise someone to heavens that are a bit exaggerated could have somewhat of a troll-effect. *shrugs*